It's The Thought That Counts
by Juicy Monster
Summary: Kyle needs to learn how to assert himself.


A/N: Uh, nothing's really happened so far, but stuff will, I promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own South Park.

Have fun, guys.

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Kyle sat nervously, fidgety, in the South Park Main Library, feeling out of place in an environment that had always been so familiar, his fingers tapping a pattern on the wooden table. He checked his watch. _Late. _He leaned back, breathing a slow breath, trying to calm down. He was totally off his game, and he didn't like it. Why was he freaking out all of the sudden? It wasn't as if—

"Sorry I'm late, ran into some trouble on the way. So what's up?" Kyle snapped away from his thoughts and looked up to see a familiar smirk and omnipresent orange parka, now nearly threadbare from years of use.

"Uh…Well…" Now that Kenny was here, Kyle was even more reluctant to say what was on his mind. He especially didn't want to finish that last thought he was having just before he arrived. No, he wouldn't even think about that one. "Wait, what kind of trouble?" With Kenny, you never knew.

"Oh, it was nothing," Kenny said breezily, pulling his hood off his face to reveal blonde, tangled curls. "Just some ho."

"Uh, Kenny…you know you're gonna get killed someday with that attitude."

"Already have, dude. So not a threat to me." He grinned easily and pulled a dirty pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, peering inside and swearing. "Empty. Fuck. Bitch stole my last one. Yo, Kyle, you wouldn't happen to…" Kyle's glare stopped him mid-sentence. "…Okay, okay, never mind."

"You should know better by now, man."

"Yeah, yeah." At the very least, Kenny always gave him other things to think about. Their exchanges were almost mindless at this point, after years of friendship. Kyle felt his previous anxieties slip away. Maybe he didn't need to mention anything. He could just rag on Kenny about his smoking again, they'd have some colorful debate, and then they'd both be on their merry way, and hopefully Kenny would never remember why he was suddenly called to the library in the first place, somewhere he hadn't set foot in since before he dropped out of school. Yeah, he'd just forget about it.

"So, Kyle, what'd you want to talk about?"

Fuck.

"Oh, uh, I forgot."

"Liar." Another thing about Kenny—he was too damn perceptive. "You called me all the way out to the fucking _library_, for fuck's sake, and when I get here you're pissing your pants like a little girl, and then you tell me you forgot? Don't be a fucking pansy, Kyle. What's on your mind?"

"Uh." This was it. "Kenny, the truth is, I've been thinking some things over, and I realized something…and you…you're the only person I could think of to tell, because, well, I can't tell Cartman, obviously, nor my parents, and I really can't tell—"

"Oh, hey Stan." Kenny turned and grinned at the newcomer, who was wearing a bemused expression, carrying an encyclopedia, and running his hands through his black hair.

Double fuck.

"What the hell," Stan said slowly, "are you two doing here? And especially you, Kenny. The library? _Really_?"

"Kyle said he had some stuff to talk about. And hey, I'd go anywhere for a friend in need."

"Y-Yeah, what he said. We were just discussing some stuff." _Dammit, Stan._

"Oh." Stan tilted his head. "Why didn't you talk to me about it?"

"Oh, I was gonna, I just wanted to go over it with Kenny first." _Lies._

"Okayy then. Well, I'll just leave you two alone. We're still on for movie night Sunday, right, Kyle?"

"Yeah, of course. Seven o' clock, right?"_ Shit. Forgot about that._

"Cool. Seeya then." Kyle and Kenny both watched Stan as he walked out of the room, then turned back towards each other.

"Anyway…." said Kyle nervously. The atmosphere was about ten times more awkward now. Dammit. He wished Kenny would do something other than stare at him. "A-any….way…" Finally, Kenny shifted his eyes away and sighed.

"Goddamit, Kyle, I wish you would stop making this so hard for yourself. I know what this is about, okay?"

"You…you do?"

"I wanted you to suffer through it yourself, but, you know me, I can't bear to see a woman in distress."

"Fuck you, dude. I—"

"It's about Stan. And how you think you're in love with him. Isn't it?" And here he thought it couldn't possibly get any more awkward.

"Shit, Kenny, way to ease into it." Kyle's face flushed.

"Well, your way wasn't working very well, was it? I don't want to sit here all fucking night, you know."

"Wait a second...if you knew, why'd you even come here?"

"I thought I'd humor you. And I wasn't a hundred percent sure that's what it was about, until your little girly-virgin blush just now gave it away." Kyle's "girly-virgin blush" deepened and Kenny smirked. "Case in point."

"Dammit, Kenny …I…I'm still not even sure about it, okay? I mean, that's what I wanted to talk to you about…I mean, he is my super-best friend and all, so maybe it's just platonic…"

"Right. And that's why we need to do a little experiment."

"A…what? What are you talking about?"

"Shut the fuck up and come with me."


End file.
